Sometimes the news cycle can be quite negative and depressing. But there are stories that warm our hearts, reaffirm our faith in humanity and make us smile.
Here are just 10 of the good news stories happening in British Columbia in 2024.
It was a decades of reunions in the making and the kickoff of the new year the Quill family will never forget.
Sisters Nita and Brandy Quill met for the first time at a Vancouver SkyTrain station last week, more than 30 years after being separated during a period of colonial violence against Native families known as the ’60s Scoop. The two found each other on Facebook in the years after their mother’s death.
“It’s surreal. Nothing like this has ever happened in our lives before,” Brandy said as she hugged her long-lost sister at the downtown Burrard Station.
“It’s a miracle for me. I’m just trying to absorb it. It will probably take a long time to process it. It’s a dream come true.
A Vancouver-based visual effects company celebrated a major award earlier this year for his participation in one of the biggest shows of 2023even if it’s for work that you probably haven’t noticed.
When most people think of visual effects (VFX), monsters, spaceships, or explosions may be the first thing that comes to mind.
This is not the case for Distillery FX, which shared a Emmy “Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Season or Film” award for their efforts to seamlessly create the post-apocalyptic world in two episodes of the HBO series The last of us.
About 50 people at Distillery spent nearly a year working on the critically acclaimed Episode 3, Very very longand episode 7, Left behind.
Filming for The last of usseason two, moved from Alberta to Vancouver in 2024.
Also in January, the actions of a Vancouver Island woman confirmed the old adage “one good deed is its own reward.
Talia Ball was heading home from Thrifty Foods in Courtenay when she came across an envelope filled with species frozen in the snow.
“I just saw a $100 bill in the snow, so I thought maybe someone had just dropped one – and it was like a big pile of money,” he said. -she declared to Global News.
“It had the word ‘children’ written on it, that’s when I knew it was someone’s family’s money.”
Through the power of social media, Ball was able to track down the rightful owner, who was overwhelmed with gratitude.
In February, a British Columbia teacher received some love from his students on his birthday and the moment went viral on TikTok.
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Joshua Filiatrault, called Mr. Fili by his students, teaches physical education and English at Johnston Heights Secondary School in Surrey, British Columbia.
What started as an alarming sight – two students pretending to fight – quickly turned into a birthday surprise for Filiatrault as he was covered in confetti and the seniors serenaded him with “Happy Birthday “.
Filiatrault went viral on TikTok in a video posted by PRLS (@prlsgrad2024) and has more than 10 million views.
In early March, passengers board a flight from Vancouver to London, England were not injured or shaken when their plane was struck by lightning.
Video shared with Global News captured as a Air Canada the plane was struck by lightning.
The large blue flash is visible at the rear of the plane at the moment of contact.
Air Canada confirmed to Global News that the Boeing 777 plane made it to its destination and landed safely.
In April we met Six-year-old Aanakh Bhullar who got to experience a dream come true.
He loves to dance like his idol Diljit Dosanjh.
The Punjabi superstar performed at BC Place in April and Aanakh was elated when he learned that his father had purchased tickets.
When the Bhullar family got ground tickets, Aanakh moved closer to his dream of dancing on stage, but his parents were skeptical.
“We wanted to prepare him for this not to happen,” said his mother Seema. “I just didn’t want to give him hope.”
But suddenly it happened.
In May, a British Columbia couple visited Egypt told their story of how they took action to help two young men in an auto-rickshaw.
Bassem Ghabrous and his wife moved to Canada seven years ago so she could complete her doctorate at the University of British Columbia.
However, they have recently returned to Egypt visit Ghabrous’ family and mother.
Last weekend, the couple was in Cairo returning home around 11 p.m. when they turned the corner and saw a rickshaw coming up the ramp.
That’s when Ghabrous said he noticed a fire in the back of the vehicle.
“It was on fire, and they couldn’t, they were just going fast and it probably just started,” Ghabrous said.
Ghabrous sprang into action, running toward the small vehicle with a fire extinguisher pulled out from its trunk.
In June, a 70-year-old woman in British Columbia met her two siblings for the first time, solving a decades-old mystery.
Lorraine Williams discovered she had an older sister and brother when she took a genealogy test on MyHeritage.com.
More than 70 years after their birth, the trio only discovered their existence last year.
Williams, from Chilliwack, and Josephine Morey, from the United Kingdom, both submitted their DNA to MyHeritage and got a match.
“My stomach turned,” Williams said. “And I was so, so excited. I can’t put it into words. Simply great.
In August, a tragic story occurred in Fort St. John, British Columbia, involving a neglected pregnant mare becomes a story of resilience.
Spirit was brought to the BC SPCA after being found on the side of a logging road. The pregnant mare had lesions all over her body and was covered in hives and welts.
The BC SPCA searched and found Spirit’s owner, who decided to surrender her to the BC SPCA.
Several weeks after being rescued, Spirit gave birth to a healthy foal on July 28.
The filly was named Journey in honor of the difficult path Spirit traveled carrying her.
Two British Columbia athletes captured the pride and hearts of the province when they won gold at the Paris Olympics.
British Columbia native Ethan Katzberg won the men’s hammer throw title at the Stade de France.
His first throw of 84.12 meters held up throughout the six-round competition – he won by a distance of 4.15 meters. This margin represents the largest margin of victory in the Olympic men’s hammer throw competition since 1920.
Katzberg is the first Canadian in Olympic history to win the men’s hammer throw title. The Nanaimo, British Columbia, native adds the Olympic crown to the world championship he won last summer in Eugene, Oregon.
Two days later, Richmond, BC, native Camryn Rogers won gold while also becoming the country’s first ever medalist in the women’s event.
Rogers was considered one of the favorites going into the event and threw 76.97 meters, her furthest, on her fourth attempt. No one else has surpassed that number and won gold.
Rogers is the highest-ranked hammer thrower in the world and entered the Games after winning silver at the 2022 world championships and gold at last year’s world championships. She is the first and only Canadian to win a world championship medal in the hammer throw.
